Tolerate: to allow;exist or occur without interference.
Intolerance: unable or indisposed to tolerate; unwillingness to recognise and respect

I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.

Gluten and lactose are not my friends.

Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.

I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

August 6, 2012

Lavender Lemonade Scones

Remember my stash of lavender goodies?

Proper culinary lavender in dried, oil and honey form. Yummo!

Lavender to me is sweet and wholesome, a bit old fashioned even. So what better match for it's subtle scent than scones?

Reminiscent of tea with Nanna, and a bit of a whiff of Nanna's scented hanky too. I figured a bit of nostalgia was perfect for this afternoon tea treat.

The traditional butter is replaced with the fat in the cream, and the sugar is made up for by the lemonade with the bonus fizzy bubbles helping with lift and lightness.
The lavender is just for gratuituos yumminess. Don't worry if you don't have any, it's not at all necessary, sometimes I use ginger beer for a spicy change... but I would certainly draw the line at using cola, or other types of soft drink/soda.

To give my scones their Lavender kiss, I used 1 tablespoon of dried lavender flowers and 2 drops of culinary lavender oil. This is different from essential oil that might not be pure enough and might be mixed with a non-edible base oil. Please don't use any oils that are not specifically sold as culinary.

I halved the ingredients just to keep temptation in the form of too many goodies at bay. The amount of scones made really comes down to how large you cut them. I made mine quite small to nibble on, but sometimes a big fluffy cloud is just the right size for a hearty afternoon tea.

Preheat the oven to nice and hot, about 200*C
You want the scones to get a quick blast of heat to make them puff up quickly

Put the cream, oil and dried lavender in a saucepan and bring to the simmer. Turn off the heat, then allow to cool. The flavour from the flowers will infuse through the liquid flavouring it beautifully. I chose not to strain out the little buds as I think they're mild enough to chew, but you can if you like.

Instead of sifting the flour, I just whisk it about a bit to lighten it up and fluff it up.

To the flour, add the cream and lemonade. It will froth up quite a bit but don't worry.
Now somehow I've lost this photo, sorry guys!

Mix the liquids into the flour carefully, handling it as little as possible to keep light.
Pull it together and pat out evenly until it's just a few centimetres thick

Using a scone cutter or a straight sided glass, cut rounds out of the dough without twisting. This makes sure the scones rise evenly and straight. You might have to flour the cutter if the dough is sticky

Place the scones on an oven tray, either spaced out which will allow the edges to crisp up a bit, or tucked up together to keep them nice and soft
You can brush the tops of the scones with lactose free milk for a nice brown top if you like,

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the scones are lightly browned and sound hollow on the bottom when tapped

For soft scones cover them up with a clean cloth or tea towel, so as they cool down the steam they release is trapped inside. For crustier scones, let them cool down on a rack so the air circulates around them freely

If the scones are still warm, the best way to split them is to pull them apart gently so they stay nice and fluffy without compacting and making them dense

Slather on some lactose free spread/butter/ lavender honey, breath deeply to inhale the sweetness, and enjoy!

So Dear Readers, what scent makes you think of sweet old fashioned things, and perhaps your Nanna or Grandma?

As a lucky co-inky dink, Sweet Celia from Fig and Lime Cordial is hosting an International Scone Week. So here's the link and hopefully we can generate lots of buzz in the Blogisphere about these lovely baked goodies!http://figjamandlimecordial.com/

What lovely looking scones Rebecca. I haven't seen that White Wings GF flour before. I'll look out for it. I think the lavender would be the perfect old-fashioned touch to the old-fashioned scone. I'll try to participate in Celia's International Scone Week! xx

Thanks Celia! I just gently flip my dough over on the bench once I've pulled it together and that seems to smooth them out. You can also leave them to rest for about 10mins so they can prove a little when you use 'normal' flour. When I use the combi oven at work I use about 20% steam and they are perfectly soft and smooth. Wish I had one here at home!

What stunning & tasty looking scones: so special too! I would have never guessed that there was sprite in your scones!!! I never heard of that before!A sure must try! :)I have made your tasty lemon delicious already 3 times! :) xxx

So smooth! I'm going to have to keep playing with mine. They look beautiful Bec.I'm making some ginger beer at the moment so might have to give that a crack, and love the tip to make them soft. I do that with bread but hadn't thought to do it with scones. Thanks lovely :-)

Thanks Brydie! I prefer nice soft scones, but don't mind chewy crust on my bread. The ginger beer is a really nice subtle flavour as well, and I usually throw in some crystalized ginger to go with it- Yummo. I haven't made ginger beer for years, perhaps I'll get into it this summer? :)

What a great idea for using lavender. I've been meaning to give the lemonade scone recipe a go for ages now, but never have it on hand when scone time comes round. And you are the second person this week to mention the whole "not twisting" thing - I never knew that was to blame!

Hi Amanda,thanks sweetie! I usually have LF cream tetra packs in the pantry and have a stash of the lemonade in little cans or bottles. This way no one is tempted to drink the extra soft drink as I have a bit of a hate against it as a hydration option- but none as an ingredient :)

Hi Tania, Herbies have dried culinary lavender in their range and you can get it from them on-line. I get my oil from a lavender grower/farmer so I inow it's totally pure and fit for human consumption. Maybe try a growers market? Good luck!

Ahhhh.. I love lavender baked goods!! I've tried making scones once but they were so stiff, hard and didn't rise for some reason! I was even extra careful not to overwork them but not sure why it turned out like that. Still got so much to learn in the baking department and have yet to conquer my fear of baking scones again. But this recipe is really tempting me to do so, I tell ya =D

About Me

The InTolerant Chef is the nom-de-plume of The InTolerant Chef.She lives in Canberra,Australia,with her husband Big J, and 2 daughters, Little j and Middle C. Gluten and Lactose are not her friends. She also has many chemicals who refuse to tolerate her, and insulin finds her hard to resist. Despite all this, the InTolerant Chef is a healthy,happy person who loves cooking for her family and friends.